NFC NORTH: Green Bay Packers beat Ravens; Minnesota Vikings lose

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson carries the ball into the end zone for a touchdown as Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb chases him during the second half. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BALTIMORE — Aaron Rodgers came up with the big plays at just the right time, and Green Bay’s depleted defense shoved around the defending Super Bowl champions.

It all added up to the Packers’ first road win of the season, a gritty 19-17 decision over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Rodgers threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, Eddie Lacy ran for 120 yards and Mason Crosby kicked four field goals for the Packers (3-2), who had previously lost to San Francisco and Cincinnati on the road.

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Green Bay took a 16-3 lead into the fourth quarter and was up 19-10 with 4 minutes left, but the Ravens (3-3) kept coming back.

After Baltimore closed to 19-17 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Dallas Clark with 2:04 remaining, Rodgers clinched the victory with a 52-yard completion to Jermichael Finley on a third-and-3.

Rodgers went 17 for 32 for 315 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He played most of the game without two of his top three receivers — James Jones appeared to hurt his left knee on a first-quarter play, and Randall Cobb left for good after being struck on his right knee on a tackle by Matt Elam.

Despite playing without injured linebackers Clay Matthews and Brad Jones, the Packers limited Baltimore to 47 yards rushing and registered five sacks, including three by A.J. Hawk.

The Ravens had won 13 straight at home against NFC foes.

Green Bay went up 9-0 in the third quarter when Crosby kicked a 50-yard field goal to cap a drive that featured a 43-yard pass play from Rodgers to Jarrett Boykin.

Baltimore answered with its first score, a 23-yard field goal by Justin Tucker following a 59-yard completion from Flacco to rookie Marlon Brown.

Harassed and hurried for much of the afternoon, Rodgers finally came up with a signature moment. He started to his left, then rolled right before lofting a perfect spiral to Nelson, who had gotten behind Lardarius Webb.

Down 16-3, the Ravens began playing with a sense of urgency and got the desired results. Flacco directed a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones with 11:52 remaining.

Jones, who missed the previous four weeks with a knee injury, finished with two catches for 42 yards and had a 35-yard kickoff return.

Looking to enhance Green Bay’s 16-10 lead, Rodgers and the Packers held onto the ball for just over 7 1/2 minutes before Crosby kicked a 31-yard field goal with 4:17 remaining.

It turned out to be the game-winning points.

Green Bay got field goals from Crosby on its opening drive and on the final play of the second quarter for a 6-0 lead at halftime.

Baltimore accumulated only 36 yards of offense during the first quarter, zero on the ground.

In the second quarter, a peculiar sequence of events began when Green Bay’s Ryan Taylor blocked a punt. The ball bounced beyond the line of scrimmage, was touched by John Kuhn of the Packers and recovered by Baltimore at its own 41-yard line. The Ravens subsequently got a first-and-goal at the Green Bay 4, but four straight runs failed to get the ball into the end zone.

Late in the half, Flacco was sacked and lost the ball. Green Bay’s Datone Jones recovered and Crosby connected on a 31-yard field goal as time expired.

PANTHERS 35, VIKINGS 10

MINNEAPOLIS — Adrian Peterson’s tumultuous week ended with a quiet game. The Carolina Panthers made all the noise.

Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the Panthers romped past Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.

Peterson finished with 62 yards on 10 carries and 21 yards on three receptions, but the Vikings (1-4) trailed the whole game and didn’t have much use after halftime for Peterson. The NFL MVP learned on Friday a 2-year-old son of his died in South Dakota of injuries from alleged abuse.

Matt Cassel threw two interceptions, both to Mike Mitchell, and the Panthers (2-3) responded each time with a touchdown.

Whether the team was distracted by the tragedy or not, the Vikings were thoroughly embarrassed on both sides of the ball by a team that had 11 penalties, seven sacks allowed and only six points in defeat the week before.

Newton perhaps was at his best since he was a rookie two years ago, finishing with 242 yards on 20 for 26 and with 30 yards on nine rushes. He threw for scores to Steve Smith and Mike Tolbert in the first half to cap long, commanding drives, and found Brandon LaFell for a 79-yard touchdown to start the third quarter.

Tolbert scored on a short run in the fourth, too, and many of the fans who spent the afternoon booing quickly bolted from their seats to try to beat traffic.

DeAngelo Williams had 64 yards on 17 rushes, and the Panthers finally put together a complete performance after leading at halftime in every game, but stumbling through several stretches of ineffective offense.

Newton had six turnovers in their first four games, but a near-helpless Vikings defense failed to force any after totaling 12 over the first four games.

Peterson talked Friday about turning to football for relief from sorrow, as he’s done several times over a life filled with adverse events, but this couldn’t have been any fun. He rarely found room against a defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher for nine straight games.

With Josh Freeman watching on the sideline, Cassel kept the job over Christian Ponder, but struggled this time. Cassel went 32 for 44 for 241 yards and a late scoring pass to Kyle Rudolph.

Ponder’s biggest problem was turnovers, so when Cassel threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns without a giveaway last game while Ponder sat out because of a broken rib, a permanent change appeared inevitable. After three early completions for first downs, Cassel was hit as he threw and sailed a pass over the head of Greg Jennings right to Mitchell for an easy interception.

Then the Panthers went the other way in 15 plays for a touchdown, aided by a dropped pick-off attempt by Jamarca Sanford and a third-down holding penalty by Chris Cook that wiped out a sack. Newton and the Panthers drained 9 1/2 minutes off the clock on that drive, converting two fourth downs, including the 2-yard toss to Smith.

Newton then used a shovel pass to feed fullback Tolbert, who barged through the middle of Minnesota’s defense for a 10-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. The Vikings lost linebacker Desmond Bishop on that drive to a right knee injury, and he didn’t return.

Any hope the Vikings had of a comeback crumbled in the opening minute of the second half. LaFell was wide open as he sprinted untouched along the sideline in an apparent coverage mix-up.

Newton found the end zone again on the next drive, a 9-yard scramble after eluding the rush.